Today in History

US Pres. George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 troops to Somalia during the Somali Civil War.

The last American hostages held in Lebanon are released.

Robert McFarland resigns as National Security Advisor. Admiral John Poindexter is named to succeed.

President Ronald Reagan broadens the power of the CIA by allowing spying in the United States.

Peking pardons Pu Yi, ex-emperor of China and of the Japanese puppet-state of Manchukuo.

The Grumman XS2F-1 makes its first flight.

The University of Tennessee defies court rulings by rejecting five Negro applicants.

Jeff Bridges, actor, producer; won Academy Award for Best Actor as Otis "Bad" Blake in Crazy Heart (2009).

Tennessee William’s play A Streetcar Named Desire premieres on Broadway starring Marlon Brando and Jessica Tandy.

A. Scott Berg, Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer (Lindberg, 1998).

Chris Hillman, singer, songwrier, musician; performed with the bands The Byrds, The Hillmen, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Manassas.

U.S. planes make the first raids on Naples, Italy.

Operation Taifun (Typhoon), which was launched by the German armies on October 2, 1941, as a prelude to taking Moscow, is halted because of freezing temperatures and lack of serviceable aircraft.

Gary Gilmore, American murderer who demanded his death sentence be carried out; he was the first prisoner executed in the US following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the death penalty in Gregg v. Georgia.

Max Baer Jr., actor, screenwriter, director, producer; best know for his role as Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies TV series